Dopamine activity in the nigrostriatal pathway alters cue-induced risky choice patterns in female rats.

Deficits in cost/benefit decision making is a critical risk factor for gambling disorder. Reward-paired cues may play an important role, as these stimuli can enhance risk preference in rats. Despite extensive research implicating the dorsal striatum in the compulsive aspects of addiction, the role of nigrostriatal dopaminergic activity in cue-induced risk preference remains unclear, particularly in females.

Cochlear Implantation in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Patients: Speech Perception and Quality of Life.

Objectives: There is a limited understanding of the impact of cochlear implantation (CI) in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), given the scarcity of reported cases. We aim to evaluate the audiological outcomes and quality of life (QoL) after CI in CMT.

Methods: Multi-institutional, university-affiliated, tertiary-referral centers, retrospective chart review.

Barriers and facilitators to integrated cancer care between primary and secondary care: a scoping review.

Purpose: This scoping review identifies and characterises reported barriers and facilitators to providing integrated cancer care reported in the international literature, and develops recommendations for clinical practice.

Methods: This scoping review included literature published between 2009 and 2022 and describes the delivery of integrated cancer care between primary and secondary care sectors. Searches were conducted of an online database Ovid Medline and grey literature.

D Agonist during Learning Potentiates Cued Risky Choice.

Impulse control and/or gambling disorders can be triggered by dopamine agonist therapies used to treat Parkinson's disease, but the cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms underlying these adverse effects are unknown. Recent data show that adding win-paired sound and light cues to the rat gambling task (rGT) potentiates risky decision-making and impulsivity via the dopamine system, and that changing dopaminergic tone has a greater influence on behavior while subjects are learning task contingencies. Dopamine agonist therapy may therefore be potentiating risk-taking by amplifying the behavioral impact of gambling-related cues on novel behavior.

Divergent effects of oral cannabis oil extracts marketed as C. indica or C. sativa on exertion of cognitive effort in rats.

The main psychoactive compound within the cannabis plant, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is thought to drive both the sensation of "high" and the cognitive impairments associated with cannabis consumption. Researchers keen to understand how cannabis impairs cognition have, therefore, studied the behavioral effects of systemic injections of THC in animal models. However, cannabis contains multiple other cannabinoids which may critically modulate the resulting cognitive effects.

Predicting complications of pediatric temporal bone fractures.

Objective: Our aim is to characterize complications of pediatric temporal bone fractures and identify predictive risk factors associated with fracture complications.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of all temporal bone fractures diagnosed in children (age less than or equal to 18 years) from a single academic institution between 2003 and 2017. Demographics, mechanism of injury, fracture characteristics, computed tomography evaluation and follow-up duration were recorded on each patient.

State of the art regeneration of the tympanic membrane.

Purpose Of Review: One of the most common diseases of the tympanic membrane is a perforation, and tympanoplasty is one of the more common procedures in otolaryngology. Tympanic membrane regeneration and bioengineering aim to improve the success rate of the procedure, increase the availability of different scaffolds and provide innovative tools that will simplify the surgical technique and make it accessible for surgeons with varying expertise level. This review aims to raise awareness of current tissue engineering developments in tympanic membrane regeneration and how they may augment current clinical practices.

Chemogenetic inhibition of dopaminergic projections to the nucleus accumbens has sexually dimorphic effects in the rat gambling task.

Women and men can differ in their propensity to take risks and develop impulse control and addiction disorders. Sexual dimorphisms in behavioral control by the mesolimbic dopaminergic reward system may underlie these phenomena, given its sensitivity to gonadal hormones. However, this is hard to test experimentally using humans.

Internal Acoustic Canal Stenosis Due to Hyperostosis.

 Exostoses and osteomas are benign, insidious lesions of the bone involving the internal acoustic canal (IAC). We present two cases of IAC exostoses managed with surgical decompression and review the clinical outcomes of previously reported cases in the literature.  A comprehensive search was conducted using PubMed Central, Web of Science Core Collection, and Google Scholar databases to identify previous reports of IAC exostoses and osteomas.

Assessment of Tracheostomy and Laryngectomy Knowledge among Non-Otolaryngology Physicians.

Objective: Identify knowledge deficits about alternate airways (AAs) (tracheostomy and laryngectomy) among physicians across multiple specialties a tertiary institution and to assess the impact of an educational lecture on improving deficits.

Methods: : Cross-sectional assessment. : Academic medical center.

Follow-up care after treatment for prostate cancer: evaluation of a supported self-management and remote surveillance programme.

Background: Alternative models of cancer follow-up care are needed to ameliorate pressure on services and better meet survivors' long-term needs. This paper reports an evaluation of a service improvement initiative for the follow-up care of prostate cancer patients based on remote monitoring and supported self-management.

Methods: This multi-centred, historically controlled study compared patient reported outcomes of men experiencing the new Programme with men experiencing a traditional clinic appointment model of follow-up care, who were recruited in the period immediately prior to the introduction of the Programme.

Follow-up care after treatment for prostate cancer: protocol for an evaluation of a nurse-led supported self-management and remote surveillance programme.

Background: As more men survive a diagnosis of prostate cancer, alternative models of follow-up care that address men's enduring unmet needs and are economical to deliver are needed. This paper describes the protocol for an ongoing evaluation of a nurse-led supported self-management and remote surveillance programme implemented within the secondary care setting.

Methods/design: The evaluation is taking place within a real clinical setting, comparing the outcomes of men enrolled in the Programme with the outcomes of a pre-service change cohort of men, using a repeated measures design.

Treatment of Temporal Bone Fractures.

Traumatic injury to the temporal bone can lead to significant morbidity or mortality and knowledge of the pertinent anatomy, pathophysiology of injury, and appropriate management strategies is critical for successful recovery and rehabilitation of such injured patients. Most temporal bone fractures are caused by motor vehicle accidents. Temporal bone fractures are best classified as either otic capsule sparing or otic capsule disrupting-type fractures, as such classification correlates well with risk of concomitant functional complications.

A Pilot Study on the Efficacy of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on the Manifestations of Ménière's Disease in Patients with Concomitant Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on Ménière's disease patients with concomitant obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), since recent reports suggest OSAS may cause dysfunction of the vestibular system.

Study Design: Prospective study using CPAP administered to patients diagnosed with "Definite Ménière's disease" according to the guidelines of the American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery and combined with OSAS.

Setting: University hospital.

Are the UK oncology trainees adequately informed about the needs of older people with cancer?

Background: Outcomes for older people with cancer are poorer in the United Kingdom compared with that in other countries. Despite this, the UK oncology curricula do not have dedicated geriatric oncology learning objectives. This cross-sectional study of UK medical oncology trainees investigates the training, confidence level and attitudes towards treating older people with cancer.

Laryngotracheal transplantation: technical modifications and functional outcomes.

Objectives/hypothesis: Laryngeal transplantation offers the potential for patients without a larynx to recover their voice, which is critical in our communication age. We report clinical and functional outcomes from a laryngotracheal transplant. Widespread adoption of this technique has been slowed due to the ethical concerns of life-long immunosuppression after a nonvital organ transplant.

Craniometaphyseal dysplasia unnoticed until 19 years of age: First diagnosed from facial nerve paralysis.

Craniometaphyseal dysplasia (CMD) is a rare congenital bone disorder with facial dysmorphism developing from early childhood. We describe an unusual case of CMD unnoticed until the patient was 19 years old. Her disorder was diagnosed for the first time from her facial nerve paralysis, and was treated with high-dose corticosteroids.

Impaired quality of sleep in Ménière's disease patients.

Objective: To evaluate the quality of sleep in Ménière's disease patients with the use of polysomnography.

Study Design: Prospective study using polysomnography administered in patients diagnosed as "Definite Meniere's disease cases" according to the guidelines of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Methods: Thirty-five patients, 17 male and 18 female, aged 31 to 71 (58 average) years with active, unilateral, cochleovestibular Ménière's disease refractory to medical management underwent polysomnography.

History of aromatase: saga of an important biological mediator and therapeutic target.

Aromatase is the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of androgens to estrogens. Initial studies of its enzymatic activity and function took place in an environment focused on estrogen as a component of the birth control pill. At an early stage, investigators recognized that inhibition of this enzyme could have major practical applications for treatment of hormone-dependent breast cancer, alterations of ovarian and endometrial function, and treatment of benign disorders such as gynecomastia.

Assessing stapes piston position using computed tomography: a cadaveric study.

Hypothesis: Temporal bone computed tomographic (CT) scanning in the postoperative stapedotomy patient is inaccurate in assessing stapes piston position within the vestibule.

Background: Poststapedotomy patients that have persistent vertigo may undergo CT scanning to assess the position of the stapes piston within the vestibule to rule out overly deep insertion. Vertigo is a recognized complication of the deep piston, and CT evaluation is often recommended.

Long-term hearing loss in gerbils with bacterial meningitis treated with superoxide dismutase.

Hypothesis: The treatment of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in gerbils with bacterial meningitis will not only prevent cochlear fibrosis and neo-ossification but also reduce hearing loss.

Background: SOD an O2-scavenger, has been shown to prevent cochlear fibrosis and neo-ossification in gerbils infected with bacterial meningitis when injected intrathecally. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of SOD on long-term hearing loss in gerbils infected with bacterial meningitis and to assess the relationship between hearing results and the amount of fibrosis.

Effects of hydrogen peroxide on vestibular hair cells in the guinea pig: importance of cell membrane impairment preceding cell death.

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that oxidative stress induces morphological changes in vestibular hair cells and subsequently leads to cell death after 2.5 h.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to confirm the direct effects of oxidative stress on vestibular hair cells.